Dinner and Disaster
by The Pen Vs The Sword
Summary: Why does all the rotten luck and bad things rear their ugly heads the most on the most important days like anniversaries? Sonic/Amy. One-shot. Rated K for suggestive themes. Sort-of sequel to "Splish-Splash."


**A/N: **So this idea came to us recently and was partly inspired by actual events.

**Sword:** Meaning this really happened! We have documented proof!

No, not all of it.

**Sword:** Some of it!

Actually, none of the things in this story happened, but we know of an event like it. You could say this is sort of an unofficial sequel to our "Splish-Splash" story. Anyway, let's go ahead and do this.

**Pen: **Sonic, Amy, and all related material belongs to Sega. The story, Sword, and myself belong to the author. Please do not use without permission.

Thank you.

**Dinner and Disaster**

"Okay, so Cream is shopping with Amy?" Sonic asked. He checked his list, pencil in hand. Beside him, the little purple baby hedgehog gummed a plastic toy ring, his teeth already growing in. Kicking his feet, the baby threw the ring from his carrier. Sonic caught it without looking and pushed it back into the baby's hands.

"Yes," Tails said. "And they're at the mall, where Cream will keep her busy."

Sonic nodded and checked off that item on his list. "And I gave you the bag? Everything in there?"

"Yes." Tails shouldered the bag stuffed with diapers, pumped milk, books, toys, baby powder, and all the other necessities.

"Hm, I feel like I forgot something," he said, tapping his pencil. He caught the ring again. "What am I forgetting?"

"I know," Tails said.

Sonic looked up, tossing the ring into the carrier. "What?"

"To relax and enjoy yourself," he said, smiling. "It's your anniversary, too." Sonic sighed and returned to the list. "Look, you got the dinner reservations, the tickets to Twinkle Park, and I can handle the little ball of energy here," Tails said, lifting the baby out of the carrier. He poked the baby's stomach, earning a drooling giggle. "Want to give Mommy and Daddy the night off and have fun with Uncle Tails?"

"I know," Sonic said, ticking off another item on his list. "I just want it to be perfect. Amy deserves that."

"Look, it'll be fine," Tails said. "Stop stressing out over trying to make this the end-all, be-all of wedding anniversaries. Nothing will be perfect and spectacular. Believe me, I tried one Christmas to—" The baby spat up on his chest. Tails grumbled and pulled a baby wipe out of the bag, cleaning himself and the little hedgehog's face. "Focus on having a good time at dinner and the park, make it the best you can, and she'll enjoy herself. Now what time should I bring him back? Ten?"

"Can you do midnight?"

A sly smile crossed Tails' face and his eyes narrowed. "Sure."

"Don't give me that." Sonic ruffled his head, then leaned down and kissed the baby's forehead. "You behave now."

"Da-da-da-da."

Tails set the baby in the carrier and headed out the door. "Be sure to finish up before I get back." Sonic pushed the door shut on his foot, but Tails stopped him. "And on a serious note, try to get some sleep. You look like you've been up all night."

Sonic rubbed his eyes. He had caught a few hours of sleep, but he stayed up most of the night ordering the park tickets online and searching for the right gift for Amy. He finally settled on a pair of pink earrings that glimmered in the advertised photograph. They screamed Amy's name.

After Tails left, Sonic laid out his best evening tuxedo. He put Amy's best gown, a soft, silky red dress with ruffled hems, beside it. For the park, he chose one of her trademark red dresses. All were completely free of wrinkles, another task he accomplished in the wee hours of the morning.

_Now,_ he thought, checking off the clothes item on his list, _call to confirm the reservations._ He picked up the phone, dialed the restaurant's number, and headed to the computer to print out the park tickets.

"Hello," a man with a heavy French accent answered. "This is Gout de Paris. My name is Alphonse. How may I help you?"

"Hello, this is Sonic the Hedgehog," he said, printing the tickets. "I was calling to confirm my reservation."

"Let me see, monsieur Hedgehog," Alphonse said. "I have you scheduled here for the twenty-first of the month."

"What?" Sonic dropped the tickets. "No, no, no. I reserved the twelfth. Today."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. It seems to be an error on our part."

"So you can fix it?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid not," Alphonse said. "Our whole restaurant is filled today. We couldn't possibly take in anyone else." Sonic's heart plummeted out of his chest and into his legs. "Now, I can put you on a waiting list and if something opens up today, I can squeeze you in. Would that be satisfactory?"

Sonic ran a hand through his quills. "Sure, sure. I guess so."

"I apologize again, sir." Sonic barely listened and hung up. He jammed the phone into his forehead, forcing his thoughts to jumpstart.

_Okay, think. The restaurant is out. _He flipped on the television, switching over to the news and waited for the weather report. The weatherman claimed today would be bright and sunny, perfect weather to be out in. As the camera switched to a news anchor at a desk, Sonic ran through all the other restaurants he knew. All of them either required reservations or didn't suit Amy's taste.

"In other news, there was an accident at Twinkle Park this morning." Sonic spun around and turned up the volume. "A truck carrying hazardous waste overturned in front of the park, spilling the waste onto Lexington Street and into the park. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but emergency workers on the scene estimate at least a few days before the spill will be cleaned. In the meantime, Twinkle Park and Lexington will be closed. Commuters are advised to take Concord instead."

Sonic shot a glare at the tickets and pulled on his quills. _Why today, of all days?_ Most of his plan was shot to pieces and it wasn't even noon yet. Before he ripped any quills out, he caught sight of the merging dark clouds outside. The news continued to show the report for the next several days along the bottom of the screen. _Still clear skies. Hope they're right._

Tapping his chin, Sonic pondered on various substitutes. Take-out and a movie was too cheap. No city events planned for tonight. A nature walk? He paused on that idea. A hike up the nature trail on the outskirts of the city! He searched for the exact spot on the computer. _That's perfect!_

_But what about dinner?_ An order from a fancy restaurant? None were like that in town and those Sonic knew were too far for him to make it back in time for their anniversary.

He glanced at the kitchen and the stray idea of him cooking passed through. He laughed at the thought. Sonic was likely to burn the house down if he attempted anything more complicated than chili dogs. But the idea lingered and the longer it did, the more it grew, convincing him. _It wouldn't be too hard. Just find a recipe online and follow that, right?_

He ran to the computer and searched through various dishes, eventually settling on sautéed spiced salmon and a chocolate custard for dessert. _Easy enough_, he thought. He scribbled down the list of ingredients, grabbed some money, and took off to the store, running as fast as his legs could move.

Within minutes, he reached the market. His stomach grumbled for lunch, but Sonic ignored it. He searched high and low for the ingredients and salmon. He also found a nice anniversary card, grabbed a few bouquets of flowers and some dozen individual ones without thought, and chose some candles. He gathered all the items in his cart, paid for them, then rushed back home. "Dinner, check," he said, looking at the time. Half past noon.

The earrings wouldn't be ready until five and the salmon didn't need to cook long. _Amy won't be back until six._ His eyes started to droop. Now was a perfect opportunity for a nap. He dropped the groceries in the kitchen and headed to bed. He set the alarm on his cell phone, put it next to his head, and closed his eyes. A couple of hours and he would be ready for the night.

The next instant, Sonic jolted awake to his ringing phone under his chest. Blearily, he studied the screen and saw Cream calling him. "Hello?"

"Oh, thank goodness! I've been trying to get ahold of you for hours," she said. "We're at the last shop. Amy's trying on dresses now and then we're going to come home."

"What?" Sonic sat up. "No, it's too early for that. You have to stall her until five."

"It _is_ five," Cream said.

He checked the screen on his phone. His eyes widened at the time ticked from 5:00 to 5:01. In the corner, an alert indicated his alarm had gone off several times. At that moment, it went off again. Sonic fumbled with the phone, turning off the alarm and accidentally ending the call. He groaned and phoned Cream.

"Look, can you just buy me as much time as possible? I have a lot to do," he said.

"I'll try."

Sonic hopped off the bed and smacked his forehead. Sometime during his nap, he rolled onto his tuxedo and Amy's dress. _Neither would be much use on a nature trail anyway._ Maybe they could wear them for the dinner at least? He smoothed out what wrinkles he could, then carried them to the laundry room. He laid them on the ironing board. _I'll iron out the major wrinkles while the salmon cooks._

Dashing to the kitchen, Sonic unloaded the groceries and laid out the ingredients. He grabbed the paper with the recipe and read it aloud to himself. "Let's see. 'Combine chili powder, cumin,' etc. 'Rub over fillets.' Nonstick skillet." He dug through the cabinets, throwing aside pots and pans. Finally, he found a clean skillet that was a little on the small side.

"Guess I'll just squeeze the fillets in there," he said, setting it on the stove. "Okay, cook in oil on medium to high heat." The dials on the stove had numbers from one to nine. "Why can't they just be specific?" He settled on six, hoping that qualified as the perfect in-between.

"Okay, that's cooking," he said, stepping back. "Custard shouldn't take long. Time to set-up everything else." He dug the candles and flowers out of the bag, rushing them up to the bedroom. On the nightstand, dressers, and windowsill, he strategically placed the candles. Closer to the bed, he laid out the bouquets in vases, fluffing the petals to open them to the fullest.

Then Sonic took the individual flowers and walked backwards from the bedroom, plucking the petals and dropping them on the floor. But when he picked them off, they crunched in his hands and hit the wooden floor hard. He looked closer at the flowers. Plastic.

Sonic sighed. _Perfect. Just perfect._ He examined the rest of the flowers in his hand, but they were all plastic. He checked the clock in the bedroom. _No time to head back to the store._ His gaze drifted to the bouquets. _Can't take those. There's not enough and that'll ruin the decoration._

Groaning, he tore off the petals, laying them down on the floor and going down the stairs. It seemed tacky and when he finished, he grimaced at the plastic trail. Sonic threw up his hands and took out his list, checking off the bedroom.

"Dinner's cooking, the flowers and candles are ready," he said, reading his list. "What am I missing? There was something I had to do." The earrings! They were ready to five! He almost dashed out the door, then remembered the fillets. Zipping into the kitchen, Sonic lifted them up with a spatula.

_Not even done yet._ He turned the dial down to five. That would be low enough and give him the chance to run to the jewelry store a couple of blocks down the street. _I'll be back before they're done._

On his run to the store, the storm clouds above rumbled menacingly. _Please don't rain. Please, please, please don't rain._ In a minute, he reached the jewelry store and rushed to the clerk. "May I help you?" the man asked.

"I'm here to pick up some earrings," Sonic said. "Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Of course," he said, typing in his computer. Sonic waited, leaning on the counter and half-mindedly browsing the jewelry in the glass cases. There was a beautiful necklace that was Amy's type to the side. He wondered how much it cost.

The clerk hummed. "You said 'Sonic the Hedgehog'?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "Why?" His nerves tightened. Not this, too. All his plans had been ruined so far, but not the earrings. _Not the earrings_, he begged.

"I'm not finding—Oops, there you are," the clerk said, smiling. "Just a slight misspelling. Someone put in a 'k' instead of a 'c'. I'll go get your order."

Sonic heaved a sigh and collapsed on the counter as the clerk left. "Please, don't lean on the glass," another employee asked. Sonic stood up and nodded, scratching his head. The clerk soon returned with his gift. He opened the black box, showing the earrings to Sonic. They laid in a soft, white cushion, the pink gems dangling from silver holds.

"You have quite the lucky lady," he said, handing the box to Sonic.

"Thanks," he said. He tipped his fingers to his temple and ran back home, ignoring the thunder above. Once at home, he entered the kitchen, laying the earrings on the counter.

The question now was whether to hide the earrings and let Amy find them or present them to her. If he hid them, where would a good place be? He considered under her pillow, but that seemed too obvious. _Maybe in one of the bouquets?_ That was better.

The light on the phone's answering machine blinked. He pressed the button and listened, surprised to hear Alphonse. "Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog. I am calling to tell you a spot has opened up. If you can call me back within the next few minutes, I can save it for you."

He quickly dialed the restaurant and tapped his foot, praying the message was only a minute ago. "Hello?" Alphonse answered.

"Hello! Sonic! Spot! Available!" he blurted out all at once.

"Oh, monsieur Hedgehog! I'm terribly sorry, but we had to give it away to another customer."

_Of course_.

"Please accept my humblest apologies. If any other spot becomes available, I will let you know."

"Thanks," he said, ending the call. He pounded the wall and bashed his head against it, chiding himself. Sonic was at his wit's snorted and an ashy, burning scent made itself aware. _What's that smell?_

Sonic turned to the fillets. On top, they appeared fine, but when he tried lifting them, they stuck to the skillet. "No, no, no," he said, prying them off the skillet. One ripped off, flying through the air. Sonic caught it before it hit the ground, burning his hand. "Yeowch!" He threw it back towards the skillet, but it hit the earring box. The box and the fillet fell into the sink.

_Clink!_ Sonic's heart stopped and his feet couldn't move fast enough. In the sink, the fillet lay next to the drain. The earring box was open, one earring clinging to the hinge. Sonic carefully took both out of the sink and wiped off the fillet. He tossed it back into the skillet.

A thorough search of the box yielded nothing except the one earring. Sonic gulped and looked into the sink. Down in the inky blackness, he saw a glint of something. He grabbed a flashlight out of a drawer.

The light showed the earring caught on a bend, not yet lost to the pipes. Sonic thanked small blessings. He flipped the fillets over, frowning at their charred sides, and grabbed a set of tools from the garage. He took out a monkey wrench and crawled on his back, directly below the pipes. Water dripped onto his forehead as he tightened the wrench on the pipe below the earring.

_This is easy_, he thought, loosening the pipe. _Just a turn here and the earring will—_"Ack!" Water spurted out of the pipe into his face and down his throat. Sonic rolled onto his stomach, coughing on the foul taste. When he pushed himself up, he banged his head on the pipe. With the water running everywhere, the earring was lost.

Sonic shined the flashlight in the back corner of the cabinet and located the earring. He snatched it up, set it on the counter, and took up the wrench. Struggling, he reattached the pipes and closed them in a flash. Now sopping wet, he crawled out of the cabinet, shut the doors, and stood at the sink, wiping his face.

_What a day._ His hand brushed against the earring when he wiped his eyes and fell back into the sink. He covered the drain and carefully picked it up. Then he placed the earrings on a pantry shelf, far, far away from the sink.

The white tiled floor was slick with water and his fur clung to him in an unpleasant manner. Sonic headed upstairs, taking care not to drip much on the living room carpet, and loaded up with several towels. He threw most of them on the kitchen floor and dried himself off.

That was when he noticed the fillets smoking. He turned off the stove and checked the underside. None were charred as much as their top, but they were pretty brown. He dumped them onto a plate and cut off the gristle and burned sections, leaving about half the fillets' original sizes when he finished.

He checked the clock. Five minutes until Amy arrived and he hadn't started the custard yet. Sonic laid out the ingredients and dumped them into a bowl. As he stirred, a _tap_ struck the window. He looked up and a droplet slid down the pane. Then another hit the glass and another. _Maybe a small drizzle._

Twenty minutes later, Sonic watched the torrential downpour, head in his hand. The custard chilled in the fridge and the fillets were served, a pair of plates on the table with candles lit in between. He sighed and shook his head. What a rotten day this turned out to be. And Amy wasn't home yet either. _Probably slowed by the rain._

The phone rang. "Hello?" he said, answering it.

"Sonic?" Cream asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Just waiting on you two," he said. "Is the rain bad where you are?"

"Very," she said. "I can't see much of anything. There's also a huge traffic jam. We forgot about the spill at Twinkle Park and we took that street."

"So, how long will it be?"

"I don't know. A couple of hours at least. It's really backed up and I think there are cops ahead dealing with a few wrecks. No one was injured, but this is really bad weather."

He scratched his head. "What if I run by and come get you?"

"No, I don't want to leave the car here." Her voice faded, talking to someone else. "You should go. It's your anniversary." After a moment, she said to him, "And Amy doesn't want to go either. She's driving because she's afraid I might get hurt if I do. And she doesn't want you coming out in this weather, getting soaked."

_A little late to worry about being soaked_, he thought. "Okay, I'll see you when you get here."

"Sorry," she said.

"Yeah, it's okay." After he hung up, he set the earrings on Amy's pillow. Then he took a shower and went to bed, too tired to care how ruined the day was. All he wanted was to forget about everything that happened.

* * *

The trip took longer than Amy and Cream thought, as constant detours stretched a couple of hours into four. So it was half past ten before they reached her house. Amy unlocked the front door, struggling with her gift bag for Sonic and several shopping bags. Cream trailed behind her, carrying a few bags of her own.

"Thanks for going with me, Cream," she said, setting the bags down by the door.

"You're welcome," she said. "Sorry you didn't get here in time to celebrate your anniversary."

"It's fine." She took off her coat and tossed it on the sofa, then squeezed the last rainwater from her quills. She headed to the kitchen. "Not like we could do much with the rain. Probably would've grabbed some food somewhere, seen a movie. You want anything to eat—?" Something crinkled underfoot. Amy lifted her boot and picked up a pair of tickets to Twinkle Park, marked for today.

The answering machine light lit up in the dark. Amy flipped on the living room lights and played the message, still looking at the tickets. "Hello. Monsieur Hedgehog? This is Alphonse again. I'm calling to let you know that we are prepared to offer you a free dinner for two next week, courtesy of Gout de Paris. Please accept this as an apology for mixing up your reservation."

On the computer, a map of a nature trail was pulled up. But then Amy was distracted by a fish smell. She entered the kitchen and gasped at the dinner laid out and the long-ago melted candles. The floor had a sewer stench, so she stayed out of there.

Things started to become clear as she put two and two together, especially with her best dress and a tuxedo draped on the ironing board. "Sonic?" she called. Cream smiled and nodded at the stairs. Plastic petals led her to the bedroom, where she turned on the lights. The blue hedgehog lay passed out on the bed, surrounded by snuffed out candles and beautiful flowers. She found the jewelry box on her pillow, opened it, and clutched her chest when she saw the earrings. They were gorgeous and sparkled in the light.

Sonic snored softly and she wiped her eyes. Leaning over, she kissed his forehead, rousing him. "Hm?" he mumbled. He yawned and stared up at her. "Oh, hey, Amy. Just get in?"

"Yeah," she said. She held up the earrings. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. "Happy Anniversary. Sorry I couldn't do more. I meant to, but—"

"I know," she said, holding a finger to his lips. She pecked his nose. "Planning for the night to end in here?" He grinned sheepishly.

The front door slammed and Tails stood outside their room. "Hey, not trying to interrupt whatever you're doing, but do you have any more diapers?" The baby giggled.

"You can come in, Tails," Sonic said.

He entered and set the carrier down. "Da-da-da-da-da. Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma." The baby reached for his parents and Amy lifted him up, nosing his stomach.

"Did you miss Mommy?' she asked. The baby laughed, squirming in her hands.

"So, the diapers?" Tails asked. "Then I'll get out of here."

"No, it's fine," Sonic said. "May as well leave him here."

"Actually," Amy said, laying the baby back into the carrier, "there's a new bag in the nursery. Would you mind taking him for the rest of the night?"

"Uh, sure," Tails said, cutting a smirk at Sonic. "No problem."

After he had the diapers in hand, Tails left with Cream. Amy shut the bedroom door and gave Sonic a devilish smile. He swung his legs over the bed, watching her. "It'd be a shame to let all this go to waste," she said, sauntering to him and sitting on his lap. "And since it _is_ the end of the night." Amy trailed a finger up and down his chest and lowered her eyelids.

Sonic held her waist and leaned in for a kiss. "Happy Anniversary," he said, pressing his lips to hers.

"Happy Anniversary."

And it certainly was.

**A/N:** Thank you all for reading this. We hope you enjoyed it and if you would, please let us know what you thought of the story with a review.

**Sword:** Let's write more!

Okay.

**Sword: **Of this one!

**Pen:** Leave it as is and let's just move on.

**Sword:** But-But-But, my OTP! I need more of them!


End file.
